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Author Rula Sinara on Writer's Hindsight

Please welcome author Rula Sinara as she talks about....

A Writer’s Hindsight and the Secret that
Sold

By Rula Sinara

Although
I’m a strong believer in education (bookworm here), I also know without a doubt
that experience can trump what’s found on a page. I tell my kids all the time
that it doesn’t matter if they read the examples in their math textbook a
zillion times. They have to work problems if they’re going to really ‘get it’.
I’ve also reminded them that, even though they’re smarter than I was at their
age, I will always be ahead of them in experience (I’m sure they love hearing
that lol).

As
a writer, I love the fact that there will always be wiser, more experienced
authors who I can (and have) turned to for advice. I can’t tell you how many
writing blogs I’ve turned to for answers. How many craft books I devoured.
However, with my first book now on shelves, I’ve been able to look back and
clearly see where—despite excellent advice—I wasted time and energy on that
road to publication because of misplaced paranoia and perfectionism.

It’s not about
being pretty.
Yes, you want to follow proper format on a manuscript, but agonizing for hours
over how to get 25 lines on your page instead of the 23 that are haunting you
at night is a waste of precious time. Having blatant two-inch margins and an
entire manuscript in italics is practically an act of defiance (can you tell I
have teenagers), given how many clear sources there are on proper formatting.
However, editors aren’t window shopping. They’re not going to buy your book
because it looked all pretty. They’re going to buy it because of its quality
and fit. All that time I spent counting lines and worrying over minutia, I
should have spent on conflict.

I’m
a craft book junkie. I read up on voice, character development, motivation…you
name it. It’s all crucial, especially having characters with realistic, organic
motivation for their goals. But, in my opinion, all of that links back to a
story needing a solid conflict—a situation where the actions a hero or heroine
must take to achieve their ultimate goal, will prevent the other from achieving
theirs. Rather than turning this into a conflict lesson, I’ll refer you to the
man who made it all click for me. Michael Hague. If you ever have the chance to
attend one of his ‘Story Mastery’ lectures (I always listen to him at RWA
Nationals), do so. You can also check out his website at www.storymastery.com. What I will say
here is this…the one thing that kept my earlier manuscripts from selling wasn’t
spacing or typos. It was not having the right (or strong enough) conflict. I
know this from editor feedback, so I’m passing that tip on to you. No amount of
description or voice will sell your story if there is no story. Most of us wish
there were more than 24 hours in a day. Prioritize your writing focus as you do
other things. Make sure your conflict is strong and compelling. Nail that
first…and the rest comes after.

Bio:

Rula Sinara lives in Virginia’s countryside with her husband,
three boys and crazy but endearing pets. When she's not writing or doing mom
stuff, she loves organic gardening, attracting wildlife to her yard (cool bugs
included) or watching romantic movies. She also enjoys interviewing fellow
authors and is a Special Contributor for USA Today's Happy Ever After blog. Her
door is always open atwww.rulasinara.comor
www.awritersrush.blogspot.com.

Blurb:
The Promise of Rain

He wants to take her child out
of Africa…

The Busara elephant research and rescue camp on Kenya's
Serengeti is Anna Bekker's life's work. And it's the last place she thought
she'd run into Dr. Jackson Harper. As soon as he sets eyes on her
four-year-old, Pippa, Anna knows he'll never leave…without his daughter.

Furious doesn't begin to describe how Jack feels. How could
Anna keep this from him? He has to get his child back to the States. Yet as
angry as he is with Anna, they still have a bond. But can it endure, despite
the ocean—and the little girl—between them?

Thanks, Cherie! You're right...I wouldn't advise ignoring formatting, spelling etc...completely. You don't want to lose an editor because the manuscript is too 'messy' to read. But if the story and hook are strong, they're not going to toss it away just because of one missing comma or a margin that's off by 2 mm :). And yes...I think at one point I measured LOL (shakes head at self).

LOL, Liz :). Glad you liked it! I'm a bit (cough, cough) OCD (cough;) and boy did it slow me down and make me focus on nit picky details. I think it's easier in some ways (for me at least) to focus on tidying things up aesthetically, than to force my brain to figure out/solve the deeper problems in a story. I've learned though.... :)

An agent once told me that a book can be summed up with "What does she want and how does she go about getting it?" Maybe that sounds too simple, but it seems to capture motivation, conflict and story -- so essential, as Rula points out!

Great advice, Helena! And so true. Answering those questions for both the hero and heroine, then making sure that the process of one achieving his/her goal would prevent the other from achieving theirs is the key to nabbing the right conflict between the hero and heroine.:)

I do think people sweat the small stuff too much. The only thing a properly-formatted manuscript does is make a writer look professional, but I wonder if editors/agents even notice how many lines there are per page?